Holy Sh*t, Overshoot! Don’t Dither; Do

Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, November 1st, 2022 - 24 comments
Categories: climate change, disaster, sustainability - Tags: , , , ,

This post by Vicki Robin first appeared at The Post Carbon Institute on 24/8/22 and is cross posted via their policy. Suggestions of what we can do in New Zealand are welcome in comments.

July 28 was EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY. On July 29 we went into ecological deficit. Humans have used the entire annual budget of resources that can replenished by nature. We entered overshoot ~ 40 years ago. When I saw the overshoot (and collapse) graph back then, I said “Holy Sh*t”. I’ve never been the same since, and have wondered why so few also had their hair on fire.

overshoot graph

Overshoot in context

Before your eyes glaze over and you scroll on, I have some juicy context for you.

This article exposes how capitalism benefits from reproduction. More people. More consumers. Mother nature be damned.

What to do? Read on…

1. Median income in the USA is about $70,000/person. These folks are in the top 25% of the population. In India, now suffering an unbearable heat wave, the top 1% earns this. MOST READING THIS ARE THE PRIVILEGED FEW. Just for context.

2. Very roughly, money spent = planet consumed.

3. Gandhi said, “The world has enough for every man’s need, but not for every man’s greed.”

Consuming different stuff doesn’t cut it

4. It’s not about buying an electric car. It’s about keeping your car in service as long as possible (and using your bicycle and public transit!). And your clothes, your furniture. Your stuff will live longer than you do, and you already own it. Upgrade only when necessary.

5. It’s not about getting the best price. That doesn’t lower your impact, it might just increase the volume of stuff racing through your life and into landfills. It’s about putting your money into the pockets of the US 75% rather than the 10% or 1%. Patronize local businesses. Invest in local businesses. Tip well. See movies at local theaters. Use local banks and credit unions.

6. Agitate for economic justice. Don’t let the R-bullies call it socialism to capture the flag. Public libraries. Public pools. Public access to health care. Public transit. Public consumption on infrastructure. Public incentives to weatherize your house. Public service. Support public spending on public goods. Make life less expensive and more empowering for the less well heeled.

7. Make families in many ways, not just married couples having children. It’s hard. Yes. Those called to motherhood and fatherhood, wonderful. Those not, be aunts and uncles. Honorary grand-peeps. Women’s groups. Men’s groups. Churches. Breakfast clubs. Community gardens. Share your home with renters. Participation, not biology, equals belonging in this world where our numbers are growing. Every person walking this earth is precious. Needless to say, women’s body sovereignty is key.

8. Think the unthinkable. It’s time. In times of crisis, consider unpopular or ridiculed solutions. Not the ones that privilege the few. Not the ones that send us into autocracy/ fascism. Not the ones promoted by corporate lobbyists. I notice many solutions coming to the fore now, from regenerative agriculture to deploying massive pontoons of seaweed to drawdown carbon. We need to use far less and recycle our excess.

Honey we have to talk

9. Have climate conversations as often as possible with as many as possible. Not “is it real?” But what do you notice? How do you feel about it? What have you done in response, small or grand? What have you thought of doing, that you might now commit to? How can I support you?

10. Turn doom and gloom into love and action. Inaction due to fatalism is like giving up on your parent because they’ve been diagnosed with a fatal disease. You up your love, enjoy every precious moment. Don’t let the media get you down, but let reality pump you up to engage, in whatever ways you, in your circumstance, can.

Hazel says

This has turned into more cheer-leading than I intended, but my dear friend Hazel Henderson’s last words to me before she went virtual encourage boldness:

It’s going to be a sh*t show for the next 5 years, so
Tell the truth and
Enjoy your life.

Overshoot Day reminds us to do all three.

__________________________________________________

Hazel Henderson.

Mod note: no climate denial under this post, including ‘it’s too late’, or ‘we can’t change’.

24 comments on “Holy Sh*t, Overshoot! Don’t Dither; Do ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Robert Guyton 1
    1 November 2022 at 12:06 pm

    Seems no one wants to play.

    • weka 1.1
      1 November 2022 at 2:00 pm

      I liked the Henderson quote about telling the truth and making sure we enjoy our lives too. Need both.

      Also #8, now is the time to think outside the box.

      • Robert Guyton 1.1.1
        1 November 2022 at 2:42 pm

        "Massive pontoons of seaweed"

        Sink mature trees in cold lakes.

        • weka 1.1.1.1
          1 November 2022 at 2:57 pm

          apparently there's a boat load of native hardwoods at the bottom of Lake Hawea, in pristine condition. From back when they were still chopping down the forests and transporting them by boat.

  2. roblogic 2
    1 November 2022 at 3:23 pm

    The stats are horrifying and incomprehensible. We've wiped out 70% of wildlife in the last 50 years. We've pumped more carbon into the atmosphere than the biomass of every living thing.

    wordwildlife.org has some excellent material graphically demonstrating the climate impact.

    But the solutions offered are usually milquetoast and half-hearted. Recycling and using less plastic are laudable. But unfortunately, like EV's they are performative and make little overall impact. The lifetime carbon impact of an EV is just as bad as an ICE vehicle, when you consider the mining of materials like copper and lithium.

    We need to get away from private vehicles and generally use lighter options like PT, bikes or scooters. And start thinking about Nuclear. We are going to run out of rivers to dam (and ruin).

    I tend towards Bomber Bradbury's way of thinking, NZ needs to hunker down and be more protectionist and build up our defences against the coming climate apocalypse.

    https://twitter.com/Mining_Atoms/status/1584306032653717505?s=20&t=U9XEY3CyEZtx4zzlbu5w4A

  3. Tony Veitch 3
    1 November 2022 at 4:08 pm

    Way back in 2016 I wrote a Guest Post for the Standard – about Fortress NZ.

    Below are the points I made (some have not aged well!)

    What then should New Zealand be doing to attempt to counteract thirty five disastrous years of neoliberalism coupled with the potential effects of climate change?

    First of all, we need to act decisively to weaken the effects of of that pernicious political philosophy. This will involve a whole raft of rather radical ideas, which will also go some way to ameliorating the effects of climate change, including:

    1. Reducing the number of ruminants by at least three quarters, and confining their farming to areas which are naturally favourable for such animals and which don’t need extensive irrigation. Long term, there is little future in dairy farming (or any animal farming for that matter). It has always seemed absurd to try to sell massive amounts of dairy products to the lactose intolerant population of China!
    2. Reducing the number of immigrants to a trickle from the present flood and confine them to trades/professionals we really need. At the present time immigration is being used to lower wages and create a precariat class which can be exploited by the elite.
    3. Concomitant with a reduction in immigration begin and increase trade training courses for young New Zealanders, providing a pathway for them into satisfying and rewarding work.
    4. Immediately increase the minimum wage to a living wage. That people are expected to work for less than is enough to sustain life is monstrous. Ultimately, move towards a UBI.
    5. Deliberately crash the housing market, especially in Auckland, while at the same time providing protection for first home and residential home buyers. There must be zero tolerance for parasites who feast on the vulnerability of the poor or who put owning a house beyond the reach of the ordinary New Zealander. The banks must serve the interests of New Zealand, not their shareholders in Australia.
    6. Immediately decree that rents can not be more than twenty-five per cent of a household’s income. At the same time abolish the welfare subsidy for landlords.
    7. Refocus the manufacturing aspect of farming towards value-added products. Nothing that can be processed within New Zealand should leave these shores in a raw state. And don’t use the argument that we’ll price ourselves out of markets – we’re a food producer in a world of seven going on for nine billion people!
    8. Require a permit to purchase family vehicles of over 2 litre engine size, ban all family vehicles over 3 litres and encourage/subsidise the introduction and purchase of electric vehicles.
    9. Buy New Zealand. Government contracts should only ever go overseas if it can be proved that similar products/services cannot be sourced/provided here.
    10. Transfer Government accounts from any of the four Aussie banks to Kiwibank and legislate to force regional and local councils to do the same.
    11. Deliberately downsize the transport industry by a) upgrading and enlarging the rail network and b) putting punitive charges on all long-distant transport.
    12. Aim to become 100% renewable in energy resources as soon as possible and heavily subsidise the installation of household solar panels.
    13. Abolish the dividend requirements of SOE’s while encouraging fiscal responsibility.
    14. Limit CEO salaries in all government enterprises and ministries to 6X that of the lowest paid worker. Foster the almost forgotten concept of ‘public service.’
    15. Institute a progressive tax regime, with a top tax of 70%, close tax loopholes and vigorously prosecute offenders.
    16. Create a level playing field in education by a) removing ALL payments to private school. If the rich want their own exclusive school system, let them be prepared to pay for it! And b) make all tertiary education free. Also, put extra resources into early childhood education. Early intervention pays dividends.
    17. Immediately begin building enough houses, with insulation and double glazing etc to ensure that nobody is homeless in this country.
    18. Progressively restrict the numbers of tourists coming to New Zealand to limit the impact of excessive numbers on our landscape. Tourism should not be just another ‘wild west’ industry.
    19. At the same time adequately fund DOC. Their task, that of protecting the conservation estate of this country, is going to become a great deal more difficult as climate change begins to bite.
    20. Preserve our fishing resources. Seize offending boats when there is evidence of overfishing and or waste (and don’t allow the industry to monitor itself!)
    21. Like private schools, don’t fund private hospitals. It is a far better investment to adequately fund the public hospital system.
    22. Remove alcohol from supermarkets. Make it harder to buy alcohol by a) increasing its price and b) restricting the number of outlets.
    23. Impose a fat tax in an effort to reduce the level of obesity. Actively encourage young people to participate in sports or physical activities. Forbid the expansion of fast food outlets, especially close to schools.
    24. Impose a total ban on foreign ownership of New Zealand land or houses. Unless foreigners are prepared to become New Zealand citizens (and that precludes them buying their way in!) and live in this country for a minimum of nine months in each year. There is evidence that this country is becoming a bolt-hole for the global elite; this we should ensure doesn’t continue to happen.
    25. About the only thing this present appalling government has done is to spend twenty billion dollars on equipment for our defence forces. I’d even go further: like Switzerland, I’d require all our youth to spend some time doing military training, with the intention of creating a home guard. At the same time our troops should be limited to UN sanctioned peace-keeping.

    If this is too long: https://thestandard.org.nz/fortress-nz/

    • Ad 3.1
      1 November 2022 at 4:47 pm

      Any idea how long it takes to build a new rail line?

      Years and years, plus more volumes of manpower and tax money than you could possibly imagine. Or a wind farm, or a geothermal plant, a decent cycleway?

      The $$ and carbon budget needed to get to low carbon is very, very large.

      • Stuart Munro 3.1.1
        1 November 2022 at 6:46 pm

        Invercargill to Bluff was completed in four years – without a fraction of the machinery available today.

        1860s – when governments were a bit more competent.

        • Ad 3.1.1.1
          4 November 2022 at 5:41 pm

          In the time it's taken to plan for Auckland light rail, the US and Russia started the space race, got satellites up, and got humans on the moon.

          We don't have the time to try and be saved by rail.

          Simeon Brown on Twitter: "The Space Race vs Labours plans to build Auckland Light Rail. https://t.co/ADx7TlcchA" / Twitter

          Image

          • Stuart Munro 3.1.1.1.1
            4 November 2022 at 5:54 pm

            Meh – just sack the footdraggers and get some engineers on it.

            • roblogic 3.1.1.1.1.1
              7 November 2022 at 7:36 pm

              I think Wayne Brown has a point… need to stop the endless political crap and just focus on something that works for now. AT should focus on completing the CRL and getting the rail network up to scratch.

              Let's prioritise fixing up what we have (bus lanes) and getting that humming before embarking on any more expensive and questionable big budget splurges. Especially seeing as the airport represents an industry that is in decline.

              Auckland has been subjected to uncontrolled population growth thru central govt policy and has been trying (and failing) to catch up on infrastructure investment for decades

    • SPC 3.2
      1 November 2022 at 5:23 pm

      Yes a financial incentive to double glazing would help (allow it to be a cost against rent instead of mortgage cost for landlords).

  4. Ad 4
    1 November 2022 at 4:48 pm

    My advice to Hazel is find a big sustainable thing worth doing and get to work.